Indicia reader with synchronized light source and associated methods and computer program product

ABSTRACT

The present invention provides systems, methods and computer program-product of obtaining information from radio frequency identification (RFID) transponder tags with a mobile device having a radio frequency (RF) transceiver incorporated therein. The mobile device uses one or more visible light sources that may illuminate the RFID transponder tag under consideration, assist in the orientation and position of the RF transceiver, and provide indication to the user that information has been obtained from the RF transponder tag under consideration, by use of the one or more visible light sources. Control of the one or more visible light sources occurs through an application operating on a controller within the mobile device.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a divisional of U.S. patent application Ser. No.10/862,704, filed Jun. 7, 2004, which is hereby incorporated herein inits entirety by reference.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention generally relates to portable devices havingindicia reading capabilities and, more particularly to equip a portabledevice having one or more devices capable of reading machine-readableindicia with one or more light sources that are synchronized with thereading of a machine-readable indicia to provide the user of theportable device guidance and feedback during the reading operation.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Where mobile telephones were perhaps viewed by many as a luxury whenfirst introduced into the marketplace, they are today viewed by oursociety as very important, convenient, and useful tools. A great numberof people now carry their mobile devices with them wherever they go.This popularity of wireless communication has spawned a multitude of newwireless systems, devices, protocols, etc. Consumer demand for advancedwireless functions and capabilities has also fueled a wide range oftechnological advances in the utility and capabilities of wirelessdevices. Wireless/mobile devices not only allow voice communication, butalso facilitate messaging, multimedia communications, e-mail, Internetbrowsing, and access to a wide range of wireless applications andservices, and include devices capable of capturing digital images andreading/decoding machine-readable indicia.

Barcodes are well known in the art and have been in use for severalrecent decades. Though there have been some changes in barcodes sincetheir inception (e.g., one-dimensional versus two-dimensional, etc.),there have been noticeable advancements in the way barcodes are read andprocessed. Generally, there are three types of barcode readers in use:scanner or laser based, light-emitting diode (LED) based and camerabased. With the proliferation of mobile phones that are equipped withdigital cameras, several mobile phone-based barcode reader concepts haveemerged. Furthermore, machine-readable indicia other than barcodes aregaining acceptance and growing in popularity. Radio frequencyidentification (RFID) transponder tags are one such machine-readableindicia seeing increased use because, at least in part, of their abilityto contain and transfer more information than a barcode. In addition toor instead of barcode readers, mobile phones or other portable devicesmay be equipped with RFID readers.

One such example of a mobile phone equipped with a barcode reader can befound in European Patent Application EP 1387560, “Portable terminaldevice, in particular a mobile phone, for barcode reading and for takingphotographs,” having as an applicant, Sharp Kabushiki Kaisha, with apriority date of Jul. 25, 2002, and having a named inventor of TakeharuMuramatsu (the “Muramatsu application”). The Muramatsu applicationdiscloses a portable telephone (10) that has a camera (12) for inputtinginformation of an image of interest, a small light (13), which emitslight through the operation of ON/OFF button (21) while reading abarcode, an LCD display part (15) for displaying information, and acontrol part (31) including a CPU for controlling the whole device. Thecontrol part (31) switches photography modes depending on the existenceof objects such as natural images or barcodes. The control part (31)recognizes a barcode when the device switches to a mode for barcodephotography. Then, the device notifies a user of the results of therecognition and then performs a predetermined process based on thecontent of the recognition.

The Muramatsu application discloses a mobile phone equipped with adigital camera capable of reading barcodes. The phone is furtherequipped with a small light source that is operated manually by the userin connection with the operation of reading barcodes. The light sourceprovides lighting for performing the reading operation. In addition, theterminal is capable of notifying the user whether the barcode readingresults in a success or a failure by way of providing a sound, voice ordisplaying a message on a display of the mobile phone.

While camera based barcode readers generally work fine in good lightingconditions, if lighting conditions are not ideal, barcode recognitionmay fail. Also, when a user is using a mobile phone with a cameracapable of reading barcodes, the user may not be aware whether thedevice has successfully read the barcode. In addition, the user mightalso experience difficulties when pointing and adjusting the device tothe barcode in order to read the codes. The Muramatsu applicationdescribes means for overcoming some of these challenges, however, itdoes not satisfactorily resolve issues regarding initial alignment ofthe camera with the barcode and power limitations inherent in portabledevices. Therefore, other means are provided by this present inventionto overcome the challenges presented and improve on the means providedin the Muramatsu application.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

In light of the foregoing background, embodiments of the presentinvention provide an improved system and method for use of one or morelight sources (e.g., LEDs) synchronized with the functions of an indiciareader in a portable device having an indicia reader incorporatedtherein, such as, for example, a mobile telephone having a cameracapable of capturing and reading barcodes or a mobile telephone having aradio frequency identification (RFID) reader.

When considering the Muramatsu application against the presentinvention, it can be seen that the Muramatsu application fails toaddress the guiding and feedback aspects integrated into thesynchronized light source. More particularly, in a barcode readingapplication, the Muramatsu application does not provide any initialguidance to users of a portable device about the proper distance orangle for reading a particular barcode. Embodiments of the presentinvention provide that information by way of a light beam emitted by thelight source such as, for example, a LED. In the Muramatsu application,the feedback of a successful indicia reading operation is not providedto the user by way of the light source as the Muramatsu applicationdescribes other ways of providing feedback to the user upon a successfulbarcode read, including generating a sound, voice or displayingsomething on the display. However, those functions require additionalpower beyond what is needed for the light source and lead to increasedoverall terminal power consumption. Embodiments of the presentinvention, however, provide information about a successful indicia readoperation to the portable device user by way of decreasing powerconsumption (i.e., switching the light source off).

The embodiments of the invention provide systems, methods and computerprogram-products for reading machine-readable indicia and, inparticular, RFID transponder tags, with a mobile device having anindicia reader (i.e., an RF transceiver) incorporated therein, by use ofone or more light sources that may illuminate the indicia underconsideration, assist in the orientation and position of the indiciareading device, and indicate to the user a successful capture of theindicia under consideration, by use of the one or more light sources.The indicia may be, for example, a barcode or an RFID transponder tag.

According to one aspect a terminal is provided for interacting with anRFID transponder tag. In one exemplary embodiment, the terminal mayinclude a controller capable of receiving information regarding at leastone RFID transponder tag having information encoded therein, an RFtransceiver for communicating with an RFID transponder tag to obtainthat information, and one or more sources of visible light. According tothis exemplary embodiment, at least a first one of the one or moresources of visible light remains consistently illuminated while the RFtransceiver is positioned with respect to the RFID transponder tag andfurther while the RF transceiver is obtaining the information of theRFID transponder tag, such that at least the first one of the one ormore sources of visible light facilitates the RF transceiver inobtaining the information of the RFID transponder tag. Once thecontroller is capable of detecting and decoding the obtainedinformation, at least the first one of said one or more sources ofvisible light may be turned off or otherwise visually altered.

According to another aspect a method is provided for obtaininginformation from an RFID transponder tag with a terminal having an RFtransceiver and a controller. In one exemplary embodiment, the methodmay include: (1) illuminating one or more sources of visible lightassociated with the terminal; (2) positioning the terminal proximate tothe RFID transponder tag to facilitate communication between the RFtransceiver in the terminal and the RFID transponder tag, wherein theterminal is positioned such that the RFID transponder tag is illuminatedin a field of illumination of the one or more sources of visible light;(3) receiving information from the RFID transponder tag with the RFtransceiver while the terminal is positioned proximate to the RFIDtransponder tag, wherein at least a first one of the one or more sourcesof visible light remains consistently illuminated while the terminal ispositioned and further while the information is received; and (4)turning off or otherwise providing a visual indication with at least thefirst one of the one or more sources of visible light when theinformation that has been obtained from the RFID transponder tag isdetected and decoded by the controller.

According to yet another aspect, a computer program product is providedfor controlling a terminal having an RF transceiver for communicatingwith an RFID transponder tag and one or more sources of visible lightand a controller, wherein the computer program product includes acomputer-readable storage medium having computer-readable program codeportions stored therein. In one exemplary embodiment, thecomputer-readable program code portions include: (1) a first executableportion for illuminating the one or more sources of visible light whenthe terminal is set to communicate with an RFID transponder tag with theRF transceiver; (2) a second executable portion for enabling theterminal to be positioned with respect to the RFID transponder tag whileat least a first one of the one or more sources of visible light remainsconsistently illuminated; (3) a third executable portion for obtaininginformation from the RFID transponder tag with the RF transceiver whileat least the first one of the one or more sources of visible lightremains consistently illuminated; and (4) a fourth executable portionfor turning off at least the first one of the one or more sources ofvisible light when the terminal has obtained information from the RFIDtransponder tag and the controller has detected and decoded saidinformation.

These, and more aspects of the invention are described in greater detailin the drawings and description herein.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWING(S)

Having thus described the invention in general terms, reference will nowbe made to the accompanying drawings, which are not necessarily drawn toscale, and wherein:

FIG. 1 is a schematic block diagram of a terminal comprising a mobilestation, in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 2A illustrates a functional block diagram of a terminal obtaininginformation from a one-dimensional barcode, in one embodiment of thepresent invention;

FIG. 2B illustrates a functional block diagram of a terminal obtaininginformation from a two-dimensional barcode, in one embodiment of thepresent invention;

FIG. 2C illustrates a two-dimensional barcode surrounded about itsperiphery by the field of view (not visible to a user) of a digitalcamera, and is centered in the field of illumination (visible to theuser) of one or more light sources, in accordance with one embodiment ofthe present invention;

FIG. 2D illustrates a one-dimensional barcode surrounded about itsperiphery by the field of view (not visible to a user) of a digitalcamera, and is centered in the field of illumination (visible to theuser) of one or more light sources, in accordance with one embodiment ofthe present invention;

FIG. 3 is a functional block diagram of a terminal interacting with aservice provider via a signaling tag, in accordance with one embodimentof the present invention;

FIG. 4 is a flowchart that describes the steps of a process forobtaining information from machine-readable indicia, in accordance withone embodiment of the invention; and

FIG. 5 is a flowchart that describes the steps of a process forobtaining information from machine-readable indicia, wherein the one ormore light sources and the device for reading the machine-readableindicia may be focused, in accordance with one embodiment of theinvention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

The present invention now will be described more fully hereinafter withreference to the accompanying drawings, in which preferred embodimentsof the invention are shown. This invention may, however, be embodied inmany different forms and should not be construed as limited to theembodiments set forth herein; rather, these embodiments are provided sothat this disclosure will be thorough and complete, and will fullyconvey the scope of the invention to those skilled in the art. Likenumbers refer to like elements throughout.

The embodiments of the present invention may be described below withreference to block diagrams and flowchart illustrations of methods,apparatuses (i.e., systems) and computer program products according toan embodiment of the invention. It will be understood that each block ofthe block diagrams and flowchart illustrations, and combinations ofblocks in the block diagrams and flowchart illustrations, respectively,can be implemented by and/or performed under the control of computerprogram instructions. These computer program instructions may be loadedonto a general purpose computer, special purpose computer, or otherprogrammable data processing apparatus to produce a machine, such thatthe instructions that execute on the computer or other programmable dataprocessing apparatus create means for implementing the functionsspecified in the flowchart block or blocks.

These computer program instructions may also be stored in acomputer-readable memory that can direct a computer or otherprogrammable data processing apparatus to function in a particularmanner, such that the instructions stored in the computer-readablememory produce an article of manufacture including instruction meansthat implement the function specified in the flowchart block or blocks.The computer program instructions may also be loaded onto a computer orother programmable data processing apparatus to cause a series ofoperational steps to be performed on the computer or other programmableapparatus to produce a computer implemented process such that theinstructions that execute on the computer or other programmableapparatus provide steps for implementing the functions specified in theflowchart block or blocks.

Accordingly, blocks of the block diagrams and flowchart illustrationssupport combinations of means for performing the specified functions,combinations of steps for performing the specified functions and programinstruction means for performing the specified functions. It will alsobe understood that each block of the block diagrams and flowchartillustrations, and combinations of blocks in the block diagrams andflowchart illustrations, can be implemented by special purposehardware-based computer systems that perform the specified functions orsteps, or combinations of special purpose hardware and computerinstructions.

Reference is now made to FIG. 1, which illustrates one type of terminal10, a mobile station, which would benefit from embodiments of thepresent invention. It should be understood, however, that the mobilestation illustrated and hereinafter described is merely illustrative ofone type of terminal that would benefit from the present invention and,therefore, should not be taken to limit the scope of the presentinvention. While several embodiments of the terminal are illustrated andwill be hereinafter described for purposes of example, other types ofterminals, such as portable digital assistants (PDAs), pagers, laptopcomputers and other types of electronic systems, can readily employ thepresent invention.

The terminal 10 can further be coupled to or incorporate one or moreportable electronic media devices 33, such as digital cameras and/orother multimedia capturing, producing and/or storing devices. Theterminal can be configured to communicate with the portable electronicdevices in accordance with techniques such as, for example, radiofrequency (RF), Bluetooth (BT), infrared (IrDA) or any of a number ofdifferent wireline or wireless communication techniques, includinguniversal serial bus (USB), local area network (LAN) and/or wirelesslocal area network (WLAN) techniques. The terminal may also beconfigured to communicate and/or read data from one or moremachine-readable indicia using the same or similar techniques.Furthermore, as used herein, the terms “data,” “content,” “information”and similar terms may be used to interchangeably to refer to datacapable of being transmitted, received and/or stored in accordance withembodiments of the present invention. Thus, use of any such terms shouldnot be taken to limit the spirit and scope of the present invention.

As shown, in addition to an antenna 12, the mobile station includes atransmitter 38, a receiver 40, and a controller 42 that provides signalsto and receives signals from the transmitter and receiver, respectively.These signals include signaling information in accordance with the airinterface standard of the applicable cellular system, and also userspeech and/or user generated data. In this regard, the mobile stationcan be capable of operating with one or more air interface standards,communication protocols, modulation types, and access types. Moreparticularly, the mobile station can be capable of operating inaccordance with any of a number of first generation (1G), secondgeneration (2G), 2.5G and/or third-generation (3G) communicationprotocols or the like. For example, the mobile station may be capable ofoperating in accordance with 2G wireless communication protocols IS-136(TDMA), GSM, and IS-95 (CDMA). Also, for example, the mobile station maybe capable of operating in accordance with 2.5G wireless communicationprotocols GPRS, Enhanced Data GSM Environment (EDGE), or the like.Further, for example, the mobile station may be capable of operating inaccordance with 3G wireless communication protocols such as UniversalMobile Telephone System (UMTS) network employing Wideband Code DivisionMultiple Access (WCDMA) radio access technology. Some narrow-band AMPS(NAMPS), as well as TACS, mobile terminals may also benefit from theteaching of this invention, as should dual or higher mode phones (e.g.,digital/analog or TDMA/CDMA/analog phones).

It is understood that the controller 42 includes the circuitry requiredfor implementing the audio, video and logic functions of the mobilestation. For example, the controller may be comprised of a digitalsignal processor device, a microprocessor device, and variousanalog-to-digital converters, digital-to-analog converters, and othersupport circuits. The control and signal processing functions of themobile station are allocated between these devices according to theirrespective capabilities. The controller can additionally include aninternal voice coder (VC) 42A, and may include an internal data modem(DM) 42B. Further, the controller may include the functionally tooperate one or more software programs, which may be stored in memory(described below). For example, the controller may be capable ofoperating a barcode decoding program that “reads” a captured image of abarcode. As another example, the controller may be capable of operatinga connectivity program, such as a conventional Web browser. Theconnectivity program may then allow the mobile station to transmit andreceive Web content, such as according to the Hypertext TransferProtocol (HTTP) and/or the Wireless Application Protocol (WAP), forexample.

The mobile station also comprises a user interface including one or moreof a conventional earphone or speaker 44, a ringer 46, a microphone 48,a display 50, an electronic media device 72, one or more light sources74, and a user input interface, all of which are coupled to thecontroller 42. The user input interface, which allows the mobile stationto receive data, can comprise any of a number of devices allowing themobile station to receive data, such as a keypad 52, a touch display(not shown) or other input device. In embodiments including a keypad,the keypad includes the conventional numeric (0-9) and related keys (#,*), and other keys used for operating the mobile station. Although notshown, the mobile station can include a battery, such as a vibratingbattery pack, for powering the various circuits that are required tooperate the mobile station, as well as optionally providing mechanicalvibration as a detectable output.

The mobile station can also include one or more devices, software and/orlogic for sharing and/or obtaining data from electronic devices, RFIDtransponder tags, barcodes, or the like. This aspect is furtherdescribed in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/767,586, “TERMINAL,METHOD AND COMPUTER PROGRAM PRODUCT FOR INTERACTING WITH A SERVICEPROVIDER VIA A SIGNALING TAG,” filed Jan. 29, 2004 and fullyincorporated herein and made a part hereof (the “586 application.”).Additionally, as described in the referenced patent application, themobile station can communicate with a system or network, as shown inFIG. 1 of the referenced 586 application.

As shown in FIG. 1, the mobile station can include a short-range radiofrequency (RF) transceiver or interrogator 58 so that data can be sharedwith and/or obtained from electronic devices including other radiofrequency transceivers (shown as 60 in FIG. 1 of the referenced 586application), and/or RFID transponder tags (also shown in FIG. 1 of the586 application as 56). The mobile station can additionally, oralternatively, include other short-range transceivers, such as, forexample an infrared (IR) transceiver 62, and/or a Bluetooth (BT)transceiver 64 operating using Bluetooth brand wireless technologydeveloped by the Bluetooth Special Interest Group. The mobile stationcan therefore additionally or alternatively be capable of transmittingdata to and/or receiving data from electronic devices and/or tags inaccordance with such techniques. Although not shown, the mobile stationcan additionally or alternatively be capable of transmitting and/orreceiving data from electronic devices and/or tags according to a numberof different wireless networking techniques, including WLAN techniquessuch as IEEE 802.11 techniques or the like. Further, the mobile stationcan additionally or alternatively include a tag, such as an RFIDtransponder tag. For example, the mobile station can include a tagcapable of transmitting and/or receiving data in accordance with any ofa number of different wireline and/or wireless techniques in accordancewith embodiments of the present invention.

The mobile station can further include memory, such as a subscriberidentity module (SIM) 66, a removable user identity module (R-UIM) orthe like, which typically stores information elements related to amobile subscriber. In addition to the SIM, the mobile station caninclude other removable and/or fixed memory. In this regard, the mobilestation can include volatile memory 68, such as volatile Random AccessMemory (RAM) including a cache area for the temporary storage of data.The mobile station can also include other non-volatile memory 70, whichcan be embedded and/or may be removable. The non-volatile memory canadditionally or alternatively comprise an EEPROM, flash memory or thelike. The memories can store any of a number of pieces of information,and data, used by the mobile station to implement the functions of themobile station. The memories can also store one or more applicationscapable of operating on the mobile station.

The applications capable of operating on the mobile station can compriseany of a number of different applications capable of being executed bythe controller 42. For example, the applications can include one or moremessaging applications, such as an E-mail application, short messagingservice (SMS), multimedia messaging service (MMS) application or thelike, capable of sending and receiving messages that may include dataobjects such as text, images, audio, video and/or other multimedia.Other applications include those capable of decoding images stored inthe terminal's memory or as they are received from an electronic mediadevice such as, for example, an image of a barcode as obtained by adigital camera. The decoded barcode information may be compared againstone or more barcode standards or one or more ranges of acceptablebarcode values to determine if the decoded barcode is recognized. Othersuch applications may receive information from one or more RFIDtransponder tags and determine whether such information is acceptablethereby recognizing such data. In addition, for example, theapplications can include data object presentation and/or browserapplications. In this regard, the applications can include an imageviewer and/or browser application. Additionally, or alternatively, theapplications can include a conventional Web browser. Further, forexample, the applications can include directory applications, such asdirectory applications capable of presenting names and associatedlocation identifiers, such as mobile telephone numbers, landlinetelephone numbers, SMS numbers, pager numbers, facsimile numbers, and/orelectronic mail (E-mail) addresses of a number of contacts of a user ofthe mobile station. The applications are typically embodied in software,but as will be appreciated, one or more applications can alternativelybe embodied in firmware, hardware or the like.

In one embodiment, as shown in FIG. 1, the mobile station furtherincludes an electronic media device 72 such as, for example, a digitalcamera and/or a digital video recorder. This device can be used toobtain images and/or video that may be stored in the memory of theterminal, processed by the controller 42, or transmitted to otherdevices. In one embodiment the media device 72 is a digital camera thatmay be used to obtain an image of a barcode. The image of the barcode isthen processed (e.g., decoded) by the processor 42, as such processingis known in the art, stored in memory, or transmitted to one or moreother devices. Furthermore, as shown in the embodiment of FIG. 1, theelectronic media device 72 operates with one or more light sources 74,as such operation is described in more detail below. The one or morelight sources 74 may also operate in coordination with the RFtransceiver 58 when receiving or transmitting information to an RFIDtransponder tag. When obtaining an image of a barcode with the mediadevice 72, the one or more light sources 74 are switched on andilluminate the barcode to facilitate capturing the image, help the userwith orientation and positioning of the media device 72, and providevisual indication to the user upon capture or decoding of the barcode.

Reference is now drawn to FIGS. 2A, 2B and 3, which illustratefunctional block diagrams of a terminal 10 obtaining information frommachine-readable indicia. More particularly, FIGS. 2A and 2B illustratefunctional block diagrams of a terminal 10 having an electronic mediadevice and one or more light sources obtaining an image of a barcode anddecoding the barcode image. FIGS. 2C and 2D illustrate the field of viewof an electronic media device and the field of illumination of one ormore light sources of a terminal when reading a two-dimensional and aone-dimensional barcode, respectively, in accordance with embodiments ofthe invention. FIG. 3 illustrates a functional block diagram of aterminal 10 having an RF transceiver 58 receiving and/or sendinginformation from or to an RFID transponder tag in another embodiment ofthe invention. It is to be appreciated that a terminal 10 may beequipped with one or more light sources 74 and either an electronicmedia device 72 or an RF transceiver 58, or both, an electronic mediadevice 72 and an RF transceiver 58.

FIG. 2A is a functional block diagram of a terminal 10 having anelectronic media device 72, in this instance a digital camera, obtainingan image of a one-dimensional barcode 80. The terminal 10 includes oneor more light sources 74, in this instance two LEDs, though it is to beappreciated that the one or more light sources 74 may be comprised ofsources of light other than LEDs and may have more or fewer sources thantwo. In the embodiment of this FIG. 2A, the terminal 10 is placed in abarcode selection mode at which point the controller operating pursuantto an application 78 stored in the memory 70 causes the one or morelight sources 74 to switch on, thereby illuminating the barcode 80 underconsideration. It is to be noted that the controller 42 performsfunctions under control of the application 78 as hereinafter describedin more detail. Further, it is to be appreciated that the terminal 10may be placed in the barcode selection mode either manually orautomatically such as, for example, by obtaining an image of a barcode.Illumination of the barcode 80 will facilitate the electronic mediadevice 72 (e.g., digital camera) in obtaining the image of the barcode80. It is to be noted that the field of illumination of the one or morelight sources 74 can either be set or may be adjusted either manually orautomatically by the user such that the field of illuminationcorresponds approximately to the field of view of the electronic mediadevice 72, as shown in FIG. 3A. Furthermore, in one embodiment, thefield of view of the electronic media device 72 may be adjustedconcurrently or independently of the field of illumination of the one ormore light sources 74. In this manner, the user of the terminal 10 canvisually determine whether they have positioned, angled and/or orientedthe terminal 10 correctly for obtaining an image of the barcode 80 underconsideration since the terminal 10 will be correctly positioned whenthe light sources 74 illuminate the barcode 80. A barcode image 76 isthen at least partially captured by the electronic media device 72. Thebarcode image 76 is generally stored in the volatile memory 68 of theterminal 10, though it may be stored in the non-volatile memory 70 orother random access memory.

The controller 42 operating under control of the application 78 mayaccess the barcode image 76 for decoding purposes as the barcode image76 is being captured by the electronic media device 72 or at some timethereafter. As indicated above and described herein, the application 78typically comprises software capable of being stored within memory(e.g., non-volatile memory 70), and operated by a processor (e.g.,controller 42). It should be understood, however, that the applicationcan alternatively comprise firmware or hardware, without departing fromthe spirit and scope of the present invention.

Once the barcode 80 is decoded by the controller 42 operating undercontrol of the application 78, the one or more light sources 74 areturned off or otherwise visually altered (e.g., blinking, dimmed, changecolors, etc.) by the controller 42 to indicate to the user with the oneor more light sources 74 that the barcode 80 has been decoded and hasbeen recognized by the controller 42 under control of the application78. As previously described, recognition relates to comparing thedecoded barcode value to one or more ranges of acceptable barcode valuesand/or determining whether the decoded barcode value meets acceptablebarcode standards (e.g., ten digits with each digit having a valuebetween 0 and 9, etc.) Alternatively, in one embodiment, the lightsources 74 are turned off or otherwise altered by the controller 42 ifan image of the barcode 80 is captured by the electronic media device72. Without limitation, it is to be understood that information isobtained when it is recognized or when it is captured. In oneembodiment, if the barcode is not recognized or an image is notobtained, then the controller 42 operating under control of theapplication 78 will automatically attempt to capture the barcode 80 in asecond attempt. If the second attempt is unsuccessful, the application78 causes an error message to be displayed in the display 50 of theterminal 10, or the user is otherwise visually, audibly, mechanicallymade aware that the barcode 80 under consideration has not beenrecognized and/or its image has not been obtained. In anotherembodiment, if the barcode is not recognized or an image not obtainedwithin a time period as defined by a timer that resides as eitherhardware or software within the terminal 10, the application 78 causesan error message to be displayed in the display 50 of the terminal 10,or the user is otherwise visually, audibly, mechanically made aware thatthe barcode 80 under consideration has not been recognized and/or itsimage has not been obtained. In other embodiments, similar operationsmay occur in the event an RFID transponder tag is not read by theterminal is successive attempts or within a specified time period. It isto be noted that by turning off the one or more light sources 74 uponrecognition of the barcode or capturing its image, the power supply ofthe terminal 10 is conserved. The decoded barcode information is thenfurther processed by the terminal 10 and/or communicated to a serviceprovider for further processing.

FIG. 2B is also a functional block diagram of a terminal 10 having anelectronic media device 72, in this instance a digital camera and issimilar to that described in FIG. 2A, above. Here, in FIG. 2B, however,the digital camera is obtaining an image of a two-dimensional barcode82. The terminal 10 includes one or more light sources 74, in thisinstance two LEDs, though it is to appreciated that the one or morelight sources 74 may be comprised of sources of light other than LEDsand may have more or fewer sources than two. In the embodiment of thisFIG. 2B, the terminal 10 is placed in a barcode selection mode at whichpoint an application 78 operated by the controller 42 causes the one ormore light sources 74 to switch on, thereby illuminating the barcode 82under consideration. Such illumination will facilitate the electronicmedia device 72 (e.g., digital camera) in obtaining the image of thebarcode 82 by illuminating for the user the location of the field ofview of the electronic media device 72 and by providing increasedillumination of the barcode 82. It is to be noted that the field ofillumination of the one or more light sources 74 can either be set ormay be adjusted either manually or automatically by the user such thatthe field of illumination corresponds approximately to the field of viewof the electronic media device 72. Furthermore, in one embodiment, thefield of view of the electronic media device 72 may be adjustedconcurrently or independently of the field of illumination of the one ormore light sources 74.

However, as shown in FIG. 2B, the field of illumination may not beadjustable to exactly correspond with the field of view of the digitalcamera, particularly if multiple sources of light are used about theperiphery of the lens of the digital camera. Therefore, as shown inFIGS. 2C and 2D, the barcode (either two-dimensional 82 orone-dimensional 80), may need to be centered in the field ofillumination provided by the one or more light sources 74 in order to becorrespondingly centered in the field of view if the electronic mediadevice (e.g., digital camera). As shown in FIG. 2C, the two-dimensionalbarcode 82 is surrounded about its periphery by the field of view 84(not visible to the user) of the digital camera, and is centered in thefield of illumination 86 (visible to the user) of the one or more lightsources 74. Likewise, as shown in FIG. 2D, the one-dimensional barcode80 is surrounded about its periphery by the field of view 84 (notvisible to the user) of the digital camera, and is centered in the fieldof illumination 86 (visible to the user) of the one or more lightsources 74. In this manner, the user of the terminal 10 can visuallydetermine whether they have positioned, angled and/or oriented theterminal 10 correctly for obtaining an image of the barcode 80, 82 underconsideration. A barcode image 76 is then at least partially captured bythe electronic media device 72. The barcode image 76 is generally storedin the volatile memory 68 of the terminal 10, though it may be stored inthe non-volatile memory 70 or other random access memory. Alternatively,the barcode image 76 may not be stored and may be transferred to one ormore other devices that may or may not be incorporated into theelectronic media device 72. The controller operating under control ofthe application 78 accesses the barcode image 76 for decoding purposesas the barcode image 76 is being captured by the electronic media device72 or following storage thereof. As indicated above and describedherein, the application 78 typically comprises software capable of beingstored within memory (e.g., non-volatile memory 70), and operated by aprocessor (e.g., controller 42). It should be understood, however, thatthe application 78 can alternatively comprise firmware or hardware,without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention.

Once the barcode 80, 82 is decoded by the controller 42 operating undercontrol of the application 78 or, alternatively, an image of the barcode80, 82 has been captured, the one or more light sources 74 are turnedoff or otherwise visually altered (e.g., blinking, dimmed, changecolors, etc.) by the controller 42 to indicate to the user with the oneor more light sources 74 that the barcode 80 has been recognized by thecontroller 42 under control of the application 78. By turning off theone or more light sources 74, the power supply of the terminal 10 isconserved. The decoded barcode information is then further processed bythe terminal 10 and/or communicated to a service provider for furtherprocessing.

Reference is now drawn to FIG. 3, which illustrates a functional blockdiagram of a terminal 10 having an RF transceiver 58 and one or morelight sources 74 interacting with a signaling tag (e.g., tag 56), inaccordance with an embodiment of the present invention. As shown anddescribed herein, the terminal 10 of FIG. 3 operates a tag manager 88 tocontrol interaction of the terminal 10 with a service provider 90 via asignaling tag 56. As indicated above and described herein, the tagmanager 88 typically comprises software capable of being stored withinmemory (e.g., non-volatile memory 70), and operated by a processor(e.g., controller 42). It should be understood, however, that the tagmanager 88 can alternatively comprise firmware or hardware, withoutdeparting from the spirit and scope of the present invention. Theoperations of the terminal 10, RF transceiver 58, tag manager 88, andservice provider 90 are more fully described in the 586 application,U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/767,586, previously incorporatedherein and made a part hereof.

In one embodiment of the present invention as shown in FIG. 3, once theterminal 10 is placed in RFID selection mode, the application 78 causesthe one or more light sources 74 to illuminate constantly or in themanner of a strobe or otherwise to visually indicate that the terminal10 is in a state of readiness to communicate with a signaling tag 56. Asdescribed above, the one or more light sources 74 may provide a field ofillumination that facilitates a user in communicating with the signalingtag 56 by providing an area of reference for communicating with thesignaling tag 56 and assisting the user in positioning, angling andorienting the terminal 10. Also, once communication between thesignaling tag 56 and the terminal 10 is complete, the controller 42operating under control of the application 78 may cause the one or morelight sources 74 to turn off or otherwise visually indicate to the userthat communications are complete. By turning off the one or more lightsources 74, the power of the terminal 10 will be conserved. AlthoughRFID transponder tags and the reading thereof is generally not asdirectionally sensitive as barcodes, the one or more light sources 74are not needed so much as to illuminate the RFID transponder tag but mayserve to provide a visible indication of a successful read process.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart that describes the steps of a process forimplementing an embodiment of the invention. The process begins at Step400. At Step 402, a terminal equipped with a device for readingmachine-readable indicia such as, for example, a digital camera or an RFtransceiver, is placed in a mode for reading a machine-readable indicia(e.g., a barcode or an RFID tag). At Step 404, one or more light sources(e.g., LEDs) are illuminated such that they provide guidance for theuser of the terminal as to how to position the terminal to read themachine-readable indicia and the distance from the terminal to themachine-readable indicia. At Step 406, the terminal is brought within asufficient range for reading the machine-readable indicia. At Step 408,the device for reading machine-readable indicia in the terminal beginsreading the machine-readable indicia under consideration and theinformation being read is processed by software executed by a controlleror logic in the terminal. At Step 410, once the terminal has obtained(i.e., decoded or captured an image) the machine-readable indicia, theone or more light sources are switched off to visually indicate to theuser that the machine-readable information has been captured. Theprocess ends at Step 412.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart that describes the steps of a process forimplementing an embodiment of the invention. As shown in FIG. 5, theprocess may include additional steps related to adjusting the field ofillumination of the one or more light sources and/or the field of viewof the electronic media devices. In FIG. 5, steps 500 through 504 arecomparable to steps 400 through 404 of FIG. 4. At Step 506, however, itis determined whether the field of illumination of the one or more lightsource corresponds approximately to the periphery of themachine-readable indicia. If the field of illumination does notcorrespond approximately to the periphery of the machine-readableindicia, then at Step 508 the focus of the light emitted by the one ormore light sources is adjusted to concentrate the field of illuminationon the machine-readable indicia, or at Step 510 the field ofillumination of the light emitted by the one or more light sources isadjusted to concentrate the field of illumination on themachine-readable indicia and the field of view of the device for readingmachine-readable indicia is adjusted such that the device's field ofview corresponds to the field of illumination. The process continues atStep 514. If, however, at Step 506, the field of illuminationcorresponds to the periphery of the machine-readable indicia, then atStep 512 the machine-readable indicia is centered in the illuminatedarea. At Step 514, the device for reading machine-readable indiciabegins reading the machine-readable indicia under consideration and theinformation being read is processed by software operated by a controlleror logic in the terminal. At Step 516, once the terminal has obtained(i.e., decoded or captured an image) the machine-readable indicia, theone or more light sources are switched off to visually indicate to theuser that the machine-readable information has been captured. Theprocess ends at Step 518.

Therefore, as described above, when a barcode reading operation isactivated by a terminal, the one or more light sources (e.g., one ormore LEDs) are lit to emit light that is generally arranged tocorrespond with the electronic media device's (e.g., camera's) currentfield of view. Thus, the lighted area serves to guide the user to pointthe terminal at the barcode under consideration at a sufficient range(i.e., distance from the barcode to the electronic media device) andangle. The light also helps the electronic media device to capture thebarcode string in a more reliable manner, because it provides betteroperating environment for barcode image capturing. Then, a decodingapplication or logic in connection with the terminal's controllerattempts to recognize the barcode under consideration and uponsuccessful recognition, the one or more light sources are switched offin order to provide user of the terminal intuitive information that thebarcode reading operation is completed.

According to an alternative embodiment of the invention, the electronicmedia device's focus can be adjustable based on whether the barcodereading pertains to reading one-dimensional or two-dimensional barcodes,as shown in FIGS. 2C and 2D. Also, in one embodiment, the light beamemitted by the one or more light sources is also adjustable by, forexample, having two separate light sources or using a lens for adjustingthe shape of the emitted light beam. In one embodiment, the focus of theelectronic media device and the shape of the emitted light beam areadjusted concurrently, while in another embodiment, the electronic mediadevice is focused independently from the shape of the light beam.

Furthermore, according to another embodiment, the present invention maybe useful also when considering terminals having integrated RFID readingcapability, so that when an RFID tag is read, the one or more lightsources are switched off or other visual indication of a successful readis provided to the user by the one or more light sources.

According to one aspect of the present invention, all or a portion ofthe system of the present invention, such all or portions of theterminal 10, generally operates under control of a computer programproduct. The computer program product for performing the methods ofembodiments of the present invention includes a computer-readablestorage medium, such as the non-volatile storage medium, andcomputer-readable program code portions, such as a series of computerinstructions, embodied in the computer-readable storage medium.

In this regard, FIGS. 4 and 5 are flowcharts of methods, systems andprogram products according to the embodiments of this present invention.It will be understood that each block or step of the flowchart, andcombinations of blocks in the flowchart, can be implemented by computerprogram instructions. These computer program instructions may be loadedonto a computer or other programmable apparatus to produce a machine,such that the instructions which execute on the computer or otherprogrammable apparatus create means for implementing the functionsspecified in the flowchart block(s) or step(s). These computer programinstructions may also be stored in a computer-readable memory that candirect a computer or other programmable apparatus to function in aparticular manner, such that the instructions stored in thecomputer-readable memory produce an article of manufacture includinginstruction means which implement the function specified in theflowchart block(s) or step(s). The computer program instructions mayalso be loaded onto a computer or other programmable apparatus to causea series of operational steps to be performed on the computer or otherprogrammable apparatus to produce a computer implemented process suchthat the instructions which execute on the computer or otherprogrammable apparatus provide steps for implementing the functionsspecified in the flowchart block(s) or step(s).

Many modifications and other embodiments of the invention will come tomind to one skilled in the art to which this invention pertains havingthe benefit of the teachings presented in the foregoing descriptions andthe associated drawings. Therefore, it is to be understood that theinvention is not to be limited to the specific embodiments disclosed andthat modifications and other embodiments are intended to be includedwithin the scope of the appended claims. Although specific terms areemployed herein, they are used in a generic and descriptive sense onlyand not for purposes of limitation.

1. A terminal for interacting with a radio frequency identification(RFID) transponder tag comprising: a controller capable of receivinginformation regarding at least one RFID transponder tag havinginformation encoded therein; a radio frequency (RF) transceiver forcommunicating with at least one RFID transponder tag in order to obtainsaid information; and one or more sources of visible light, wherein saidRF transceiver and said one or more sources of visible light areoperable by said controller such that while said RF transceiver ispositioned with respect to said at least one RFID transponder tag andfurther while said RF transceiver is obtaining said information of saidat least one RFID transponder tag, at least a first one of said one ormore sources of visible light remains consistently illuminated such thatat least the first one of said one or more sources of visible lightfacilitates the RF transceiver in obtaining the information of said atleast one RFID transponder tag until said controller is capable ofdetecting and decoding the obtained information, wherein at least thefirst one of said one or more sources of visible light is turned off orotherwise visually altered once said controller is capable of detectingand decoding the obtained information.
 2. A terminal according to claim1, wherein the one or more sources of light are light-emitting diodes(LEDs).
 3. A terminal according to claim 1, wherein the one or moresources of light have an adjustable field of illumination.
 4. A methodof obtaining information from a radio frequency identification (RFID)transponder tag with a terminal having a radio frequency (RF)transceiver and a controller, comprising: illuminating one or moresources of visible light associated with said terminal; positioning saidterminal proximate to said RFID transponder tag to facilitatecommunication between said RF transceiver in said terminal and said RFIDtransponder tag, wherein said terminal is positioned such that said RFIDtransponder tag is illuminated in a field of illumination of said one ormore sources of visible light; receiving information from said RFIDtransponder tag with said RF transceiver while said terminal ispositioned proximate to said RFID transponder tag, wherein at least afirst one of said one or more sources of visible light remainsconsistently illuminated while said terminal is positioned and furtherwhile said information is received; and turning off or otherwiseproviding a visual indication with at least said first one of said oneor more sources of visible light when said information that has beenobtained from said RFID transponder tag is detected and decoded by saidcontroller.
 5. The method of claim 4, wherein positioning said terminalproximate to said RFID transponder tag such that said positionfacilitates communication between said RF transceiver and said RFIDtransponder tag comprises positioning said terminal such that said RFIDtransponder tag is illuminated in a field of illumination of said one ormore sources of visible light.
 6. The method of claim 4, whereinpositioning said terminal proximate to said RFID transponder tag suchthat said position facilitates communication between said RF transceiverand said RFID transponder tag comprises positioning said terminal suchthat said RFID transponder tag is illuminated in a field of illuminationof said one or more sources of visible light and said field ofillumination corresponds to the area in which the RF transceiver is ableto communicate with the RFID transponder tag.
 7. The method of claim 4,wherein illuminating one or more sources of visible light associatedwith said terminal comprises illuminating one or more light-emittingdiodes.
 8. A computer program product for controlling a terminal havinga radio frequency (RF) transceiver for communicating with a radiofrequency identification (RFID) transponder tag and one or more sourcesof visible light and a controller, the computer program productcomprising a computer-readable storage medium having computer-readableprogram code portions stored therein, the computer-readable program codeportions comprising: a first executable portion for illuminating the oneor more sources of visible light when said terminal is set tocommunicate with an RFID transponder tag with the RF transceiver; asecond executable portion for enabling the terminal to be positionedwith respect to the RFID transponder tag while at least a first one ofthe one or more sources of visible light remains consistentlyilluminated; a third executable portion for obtaining information fromsaid RFID transponder tag with said RF transceiver while at least thefirst one of said one or more sources of visible light remainsconsistently illuminated; and a fourth executable portion for turningoff at least the first one of said one or more sources of visible lightwhen said terminal has obtained information from said RFID transpondertag and said controller has detected and decoded said information.
 9. Acomputer program product according to claim 8, wherein the fourthexecutable portion is adapted to switch off at least the first one ofsaid one or more sources of visible light when said terminal hasobtained information from said RFID transponder tag into anactively-operating application on a controller in said terminal and saidapplication decodes and recognizes said information
 10. A computerprogram product according to claim 8, wherein the third executableportion is adapted to obtain information to the terminal when theterminal is actively operating an application in a state of receivingdata.